ARTICLES ABOUT LATE BLOOMER BY DATE - PAGE 5

William Hyndman 3d, affectionately known to his friends as Billy or Big Bill, played in dozens of national and international amateur tournaments during his six decades in golf. But one of his favorite pastimes over the years was a match he would play occasionally at Huntingdon Valley Country Club. The match involved Hyndman and his two sons, William "Bucky" 4th and Tom. The young men were pretty fair golfers in their own right and frequently played at Huntingdon Valley, where the family home was located a few steps from the eighth green.

It may be hard to believe, but your faithful columnist and radio show host was chairman of five major exhibits at the fabled Philadelphia Flower Show. From 1993 through 1997, an extremely talented crew labored long and hard to craft award-winning exhibits for the Organic Gardening magazine display, while I stood around a lot, made suggestions that were mostly (and wisely) ignored, and then took all the credit. During those years, I learned a lot about how to see - and not see - the show correctly.

The baseline story is one that Ashley Dunek can recite with laughter, but it also illustrates the rapid rise that the Lenape senior has enjoyed on the basketball court. During her freshman season in one practice, Dunek kept getting beaten to the baseline while defending. Freshman coach Lynn Brennan, who is now Lenape's varsity coach, kept telling Dunek to cut off the baseline. An embarrassed Dunek finally raised her hand and asked the coach, "What's the baseline?" Brennan could not get angry because she knew that Dunek was a novice to the game.

Bill Ellerbee is not exactly new to coaching basketball at Simon Gratz High, so he had to think for a moment. And another moment. . . He munched on a postgame snack as he pondered and then, finally, he was ready to answer. "Pwobably not," he said through a full mouth. The question: Has Ellerbee, Gratz's coach for 19 seasons, ever coached a player who has made more improvement from junior year to senior year than 6-4 small forward Michael Cuffee? After the "pwobably not" response, Ellerbee mentioned Lynard Stewart, who was the 1994 Daily News City Player of the Year and then enjoyed a fine career at Temple.

They are two kids applying to the same college. Al has high test scores but performs badly in interviews. George has a mixed record on paper but shines in person. OK, you're the admissions director. Who gets in? Let's look at Al's file. A quarter-century of Washington experience capped by eight years as vice president. A hard-working student on issues both domestic and foreign. A spirited White House loyalist. Decided early that this is where he wants to go. George is a different kettle of fish.

Mike McDermott can't offer a precise reason for his breakthrough golf summer. He concedes that he is putting better, but the improvement in his iron play hasn't been that exceptional. He can crush a drive more than 300 yards, but length has never been a problem. Still, something has had to contribute to McDermott's play, which includes the Pennsylvania Amateur championship, a runner-up finish in the Philadelphia Amateur after a 38-hole title match, and a berth in next week's U.S. Amateur at historic Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. Simply expressed, in McDermott's words, "I've learned how to play.

You never really know where you will find a "player. " Some of the guys on everybody's "list" turn out to be guys who were high school heroes and college wannabes. And some guys who fall through the cracks turn out to be difference makers. St. Joseph's hopes it has found a player who, one day, can make a difference. John Bryant, a 6-7 forward from Woodbridge (Va.) High, isn't on any of the lists. But his coach is convinced he will be a player. Bryant has committed to St. Joe's and will be sending his letter of intent along in a few days.

Robert Georges spends all his sports time bouncing a ball or bouncing off the balls of his feet. You want a dunk where the guy almost jumps through the basket? Georges is your man. You want sensational efforts in track and field's assorted jumping events? Ditto. "Monday I went to the gym to shoot around, play a little one-on-one and work on my dunks," Georges said. "Tuesday I chilled. Wednesday I went back to the gym. Thursday I chilled. Today I went to track practice and then came over here.

Todd MacCulloch's statistics with the 76ers - averaging 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 31 games - don't jump off the page at you. But his status as a late bloomer, a late second-round draft choice (No. 47) and a 7-footer with a huge upside fascinates basketball people. That seems to be part of the reason the NBA placed him on the Rookie squad for the Rookie Challenge on Feb. 12 in Oakland, Calif., that will be part of All-Star Weekend. To accommodate last season's rookies who missed an opportunity to play in the Rookie All-Star Game because the events were erased by the lockout, this year's game will match this season's rookies against a team of second-year players.

Mark Smith used to wave to his parents in the stands every time he was pinned. But he was 4 at the time and didn't know any better. Wrestling was something to do, a fun thing. That's the way it started for the Upper Perkiomen sophomore. However, he has transformed himself from someone who admittedly was not very good to one of the best 145-pound wrestlers in the state. He has done it with a style that often leaves opponents confounded. "Everything you teach a kid to normally do, Mark does the opposite, and it works out well for him," Upper Perkiomen coach Tom Hontz said.